Meaningful interactive e-Learning is reliable andconsistent training. It has a user-designed interface for navigation ease. User-designed means that the home screen gives the learner instant access to every aspect of the training without having to navigate through multiple clicks. The e-Learning that actually functions well is always available, easy to customize, with easy to update content. One can access it, update it, or customize it at any time because it is available...
There are two operating philosophies that are common to all organizations—whether the enterprise engages in industrial manufacturing, service, distribution, finance or any other kind of business—Total Quality Commitment and Just-In-Time. Total Quality Commitment seeks to develop a dedication to the customer, a predictable process of manufacturing, operations, or service, a climate in which employees strive for continual improvement and the desire to get to the root causes of problems. The TQC philosophy...
Imagination is the single catalyst that drives creativity. One of America’s greatest scenic artists, Robert Edmond Jones, defined that process most appropriately when he wrote, “Imagination is the faculty for realization.” No one can create anything meaningful unless their imagination can foresee that created object or concept already realized in their own mind. Imagination is not fantasy. Fantasy is inner-directed, while imagination lets us envision worlds outside ourselves. And, if we are...
Today I’m going to diverge a bit from the basic themes of previous blogs and comment on higher education — specifically, liberal education. Liberal education as defined by the Association of American Colleges and Universities is “a philosophy of education that empowers individuals with broad knowledge and transferable skills, and a stronger sense of values, ethics, and civic engagement . . . characterized by challenging encounters with important issues, and more a...
A recent Department of Education study found that by increasing an individual’s training by 10%, productivity is increased by 10%. Compare that to only a 6% productivity increase when adding 10% to workers’ hours and only a 3.2% increase when increasing employee stock ownership by 10%. E-Learnitng, combined with a valid Skills Assessment Test will add even more value to these numbers. Most importantly, if you choose wisely and conduct your training...
In 1944 the G.I. Bill changed the makeup of our college population and set new ground rules for the practice of adult live instruction throughout American business and industry. Prior to the G.I. Bill, less than 9 percent of Americans ever attained a college degree. “Live instruction-as-lecture” was reserved for the intellectual elite. As we now know, this “reading/lecture” education model, applied universally, has not worked well for the majority of Americans....
Training in the process and manufacturing industries usually falls into one, or more, of the following three categories: • Total Training—an in-depth approach, from basics to advanced topics, covering the “why’s,” as well as the “how to’s.” An apprentice program would be an example. • Multi-Craft Training—the complexity of modern equipment, which often combines technologies (broader job classifications), has made this a rapidly growing need. An example would be an electronics technician...
In previous blogs, I’ve railed against PowerPoint presentations as a learning tool. It is not a tool for learning — and, never has been. PowerPoint is merely one way to convey information. But, it cannot be used to teach anyone anything! At best, it can only inform — and, not particularly well at that. We now have another attack on PowerPoint –- only this time about its use as a decision tool....
Many of you in the process and manufacturing industries have invested heavily in CD-ROM courseware over the past decade. Today, in some ways, that investment seems limited in the face of e-Learning pressures. However, it need not be that way. You’re now able to come back and get a second round of heightened value from that initial investment. With the new digital networking developments it now becomes possible to purchase digital networking...
A couple of weeks ago the U.S. Department of Labor awarded $10 million in funding to organizations that connect older Americans to career opportunities. This “Aging Worker Initiative” is designed to train workers 55 and older for jobs in high-growth, high-demand industries. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis commented, “This grant provides opportunities for older Americans who face challenges re-entering or remaining in the workforce.” Economists generally agree that a well-educated and skilled...
As you know, most media courseware has an exam at the end. The courseware that has truly meaningful exams has a bank of questions that are randomized but, at the same time, asks at least one question for each of the learning objectives. Usually, it would be wise to follow up that exam with a hands-on test that will give you a clearer picture as to the transfer of learned knowledge into...
Finishing up on the SALT Conference I attended in Arlington, Virginia last week. As I’ve mentioned in an earlier blog, this is one of the four major training conferences held in the United States each year. And, the SALT Conferences are the ones that give me a peek into the future as they are attended by the visionary developers who have an eye on the next decade. Much of what they present,...
In the late 1990s, using visual-based multimedia as the primary instruction medium, the first visual learning centers were created in DeKalb County, Georgia in order to integrate them into their Family Technology Resource Centers (FTRC). Other Centers are operating in Milwaukee, Wisconsin thanks to then-Governor Tommy Thompson, and former Governor David Beasley opened others in Charleston, South Carolina. The Centers all run at capacity with many thousands of individuals on waiting lists...
Community colleges are a vital part of their geographical community, providing training for the area’s businesses and industries through both traditional and interactive methods. Many of these institutions are now investing in media courseware in order to help solve a problem they currently face. Declining enrollment has been forcing many of these colleges to cancel their traditional (lecture/textbook) technical and vocational courses in maintenance and instrumentation. Yet, the skills taught in those...
